Open AccessMineralogical composition of sands in Meridiani Planum determined from Mars Exploration Rover data and comparison to orbital measurements
Author(s) -
Rogers A. D.,
Aharonson O.
Publication year - 2008
Publication title -
journal of geophysical research: planets
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.67
H-Index - 298
eISSN - 2156-2202
pISSN - 0148-0227
DOI - 10.1029/2007je002995
Subject(s) - pyroxene , olivine , geology , mars exploration program , basalt , mineralogy , geochemistry , astrobiology , physics
Constraints on the mineralogical composition of low‐albedo, low‐sulfur sands at Meridiani Planum are determined from Mars Exploration Rover (MER) Opportunity Miniature Thermal Emission Spectrometer (Mini‐TES), Mössbauer, and Alpha Proton X–Ray Spectrometer measurements. Results of this work show that the sand is olivine basaltic in composition, with minor amounts of sulfate and a high‐silica phase (glass or secondary amorphous silica). Measurements from all three instruments indicate that pyroxene is twice as abundant as olivine, and that the pyroxene composition is dominated by the low‐calcium variety. The volume abundance of olivine is constrained to be 10–15%. Results from detailed analyses of MER data are used to ground truth the spectral emissivity and mineral abundances derived from orbit with Mars Global Surveyor TES data. TES‐derived mineral abundances are within 5% of those derived from MER data, which is generally within the statistical errors associated with TES‐derived phase abundances. The agreement lends support to global‐ and regional‐scale variations in mineralogical composition determined from TES data in previous studies. An alternative method of least squares minimization is used for modeling the TES and Mini‐TES data; the benefits of this method are demonstrated by comparison with conventional least squares techniques previously used by TES data users.